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, 1884, BY ROBERT E. DA^, (V V 

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FORMING TO ;c 

Theory, 

VELOPM E NT 
AND RULE S.*c 


































WHIST RHYMES, 


It year hand, is good, nr bad, Dr fair, 

From beginning to end use the greatest care 
Ta play with your partner in combination; 

This rule allows no variation, 

Don’t rely on yourself the whole work to do; 

But work for your partner, as he must for you, 

THE LEAD, 

The first card you lead from those in hand 
Says to your partner: "I’m of a strong band, 

He who leads in this suit has s everal more; 

He has certainly three, and possibly four, 

To establish this suit is his principal aim; 

You must help and lead back his suit,—the same," 

Lead long-suit king, if backed by ace or queen; 

If without ace, leLsmall card next be seen, 

With ace, queen, knave: queen fallows after ace, 

With ace, four small ones, give ta ace first place, 

Lead head of sequence, if queen or knave's most high, 
The lowest lead when no lines here apply. 

[This rule applies to all the suits but one: 

Y du will, with trumps, decide what’s ta be done; 

A rule for trumps, found usually sound, 

Is to lead low the first time round,] 

When trumps no longer remain to frighten, 

□pen suits with low cards, your task to lighten, 

If you’ve five of the trump-suit, lead trumpsyourfirstchan.ee; 
By so doing, the value of your hand you enhance. 

With four trumps, if two are aface and an ace, 

Don’t lead; nor with two having royalty's face, 

Unless in two other suits you are strong; 

For, when holding weak suits, such play wouldbe wrong. 



Perhaps when your long suit your partner’s been told, 

You should lead from a suit where a weak handyou hold; 
In this, as whenever you’ve no rule for play, 

What you know of the hands should show you your way. 


When retaining the lead is what you seek, 

Lead through the strong up to the weak, 

When you open a suit having cards less than four, 
Play high if you think that your partner has more, 


RETURNING- SUITS. 

Return your friend's; but play your own suit first, 

But promptly lead back trumps, for of bad play, the worst 
Is neglecting to return a trump-card lead. 

Till you've mastered this, you this rule most need, 



When you are returning your partner's lead, 
Give him yourbest. This rule always heed; 
Butif you had more than three to begin, 
Leading back worstmay help you to win, 

If the master-card is yours to play, 

After the first round, this don't delay, 











In returning plain suits, you’ll haste avoid; 

For you would iindyourself annoyed 
If your partner should fail to reap the fruit 
□ f knowing which is your longest suit, 

THE TRUMP REQUEST, 

That you signal for trumps, your partner will know, 
When you discard a higher ere discarding a low, 

To do this requires two rounds Df a suit; 

B ut y o u t alk t a y a ur p artn er, while y o ur lip s r em ain mut e, 

Y our partner should know, when he sees your trey loose, 
That you'll signal for trumps or can not play the deuce, 
When a deuce is not played to an ace or a king, 

Keep watch for a signal for trumps to come in. 

SECDND HAND. 

With ace, queen, knave, or ace, queen and the ten, 

If you've knave, play it out; if not, the queen then. 

With high sequence of three, or of two with one more, 

A high card, secondhand, is authority's law. 

If you hold the two highest, or the second and third, 

You will play one DUt second, if you value Pole's word. 

But the general rule to b e fallowed "by you 

Is: Do not play a three when you can play a two, 

When you play second hand and a trick is in doubt, 
Trump not, if to you four trumps were dealt out; 

But if, in the trump suit, you've not more than three, 

Play trumps second hand, to aid your vis-a-vis, 

There comes a time when you'll wisely choose 
To let pass, second hand, a trick you'll thus lose; 

Your partner then will be under your ban, 

If he doesn’t lead trumps the first time he can. 

THIRD HAND. 

In finessing, you’ll never perfection attain; 

Flaying queenbefore ace on the first round should gain, 
Finessing is warranted more frequently 
In the trump suit than in one of the other three. 

Partner's lead lightly won, you should't return, 

Give two trumps for one andyou've something to learn, 

FOURTH HAND. 

When, fourth hand, you’re holding a card that willmake. 
A trick then against you 'tis your duty to take: 

Unless you’ve a tenace you hope to have saved; 

If such is the case, this rule may be waived. 

IN GENERAL. 

To ruff is temptation a beginner will feel; 

Whenyou conquered this weakness, it was foryourweal, 
If an adverse strong trump-hand's devoid of a suit, 

You should force him to ruff: this will show you're astute; 
For in this way his trump-suit you lessen in length, 

And empty his hand of its principal strength. 

Discard best of a sequence when you have full command, 
Your trumps will stop ruffing by opponent’s hand. 

If you play from a sequence and don't have the lead, 

The lowest, most often, is the card that you need. 















Rid self of high cards In your partner's suit; 

Retain, and all systems you treat like a 'brute, 

Guard tenace with care when but few cards are left; 

□ f the others’ best card you may make them bereft, 

When you look through your hand a discard to seek, 
Make selection from suits in which you are weak, 

The whist golden-rule is: Whatever you do, 

Don't treat your opponents as you'd have them treat you. 
















